UpTech, Market Lofts break ground in Covington

City hopes more investors see success, follow suit

Jessica Noll, WCPO Digital

5:46 PM, Jul 23, 2013

12:14 PM, Oct 8, 2013

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Over $30 million in projects are in the works to revitalize downtown Covington and improve its image.

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Covington Mayor Sherry Carran cuts a symbolic ribbon for the introduction of UpTech's new home and Market Lofts, both situated on Pike Street, and developed by The Catalystic Development Foundation of Northern Kentucky.

Jessica Noll/WCPO Digital

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

UpTech at PikeStar, located on Pike Street in Covington, Ky., will open its doors to start-up informatics businesses this fall.

Jessica Noll/WCPO Digital

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Market Lofts on Pike Street in Covington, Ky., are expected to open by the end of the year.

Jessica Noll/WCPO Digital

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

COVINGTON, Ky - Two new ventures in Northern Kentucky are well on their way to building up the urban core along Covington’s Pike Street Corridor.

A groundbreaking for the future home of UpTech, Northern Kentucky's informatics startup accelerator, at PikeStar and a new market-rate apartment building at Market Lofts, was hosted Tuesday by The Catalytic Fund of Northern Kentucky.

As Pike Street in Covington begins to emerge with businesses, like UpTech, the city hopes investors and business owners will follow suit in order to revitalize and repopulate the urban core.

“It’s a good day in the neighborhood,” said Covington Mayor Sherry Carran. “Everything keeps pointing to Covington is the place to be.”

Officials said millions of dollars are being spent to revitalize downtown Covington, and The Catalytic Fund—which is set aside for redevelopment projects deemed too risky for investors—is providing a portion of the money for those projects.

Plans for UpTech, located at 108-12 Pike Street in the lower level of the PikeStar building, are to jumpstart entrepreneurs within the community.

In 2012, its first year, they gave up to $100,000 in start-up funding, mentoring, office space and marketing/legal advice, to eight companies. The second round of business acceleration will kick off in September.

UpTech, who has partnered with Northern Kentucky University’s College of Informatics, will open in the fall.

“At the end of the day, we’re creating jobs,” said Amanda Greenwell, UpTech manager. “[We’re] creating a place for NKU students to go… retain the talent in our region.”

PikeStar’s upstairs will include seven apartment units, set to open in the spring, and will be home to contemporary-style studio and 1-2 bedroom apartments.

Market Lofts, also located within the Pike Street Corridor, will open at the end of the year and will include 15 units ranging from 700-1,000-square-feet studios and 1-bedroom loft apartments.

While Pike Street is an eclectic mix of residential and commercial buildings, including restaurants and an art gallery, traditional lenders are not eager to take the risk on dilapidated buildings. That is where The Catalytic Fund stepped in and reached out.
Originally formed by Vision 2015, The Catalytic Fund reached its goal of raising $10 million to finance $100 million in projects in an effort to revitalize the urban core, earlier this year.
“[We’re] setting the platform for other investments in the urban communities,” said Jeanne Schroer, CEO and president of The Catalytic Fund, who gave $305,000 to the UpTech and Market Lofts projects.